Strangelove's sits at 216 South 11th Street in Center City, a craft beer bar that pairs a deep, Belgian-leaning tap list with more than thirty wing flavors and a free arcade in the back.
The address is 216 South 11th Street, in the Washington Square West stretch of Center City. Philadelphia Magazine files Strangelove's among the city's serious beer bars, and the room comes from the team behind the long-running Memphis Taproom and Local 44, which is why the tap list runs deeper than the corner-bar look suggests.
The format is a craft beer bar that does not take itself too seriously. Strangelove's pours a rotating draft list with a Belgian core, backed by a long bottle and can selection, and the kitchen leans into bar food done with some ambition. The free arcade in the back is the detail regulars mention first, a working set of machines rather than a gimmick.
What to order starts with the board. The taps rotate often, and Untappd and BeerMenus both track a list that turns over rather than sitting static, so regulars check before they order. The kitchen's calling card is the wings, with more than thirty flavors, alongside a gold-leaf cheesesteak that reads as a joke until it lands on the table.
The room is narrow and dark in the right way, a Center City beer bar rather than a brewpub barn. The arcade gives the back a second life later in the night, which keeps groups in the room past the first round.
Pricing sits at the mid-range for Center City, fair for a rotating craft list and a kitchen that does more than fry. The value is the spread: a serious beer program, real food, and free games under one roof, without a cover or a markup for the arcade.
Hours run from late morning through the week, with the kitchen and bar open late Thursday through Saturday. Best time to go is a weeknight for the quieter board and the games, or a weekend evening for the fuller room. Who it is for: a craft-beer drinker who wants rotating pours, a group that wants food and games in one stop, and anyone working the Center City beer-bar circuit. Who should skip it: a quiet date, since the arcade and the wings set the tone.
The official site at strangelovesbeerbar.com carries the current menus, and the room takes walk-ins. Weekend nights fill the fastest.
For more in the category, see our guide to the best craft beer bars in Philadelphia, browse the full Philadelphia bar guide, or compare it against our worldwide best craft beer bars roundup.
